Tube Watch: Person of Interest – Death Benefit

With Shaw (Sarah Shahi) on a road trip with Root (Amy Acker) to deal with a relevant number, Finch (Michael Emerson) and Reese (Jim Caviezel) take a trip to Washington to protect a Congressman (John Heard). Not able to get close enough to determine the threat, Reese stages a shooting that allows Finch to implant him as the Congressman’s new Secret Service protection agent. The threat he and Finch actually discover, however, is unlike any The Machine has given them before.

Reaching out to Senator Garrison (John Doman), Greer (John Nolan) offers the services of Decima’s system now that the government has been forced to publicly shutdown Northern Lights and suspend any contact with The Machine. When Finch’s mission and Decima’s interests cross The Machine sends Shaw back to protect the Senator who Reese has kidnapped to keep safe from the trailing Decima agents.

In an episode with lasting consequences for the rest of the season and possibly beyond, the team discovers the Congressman isn’t a threat to Decima (who was sent to protect, not kill, the politician) but to the The Machine (who Reese believes wants him to kill their latest number). Despite compelling arguments from both Reese and Shaw about the greater good, Finch is unable to allow such an action to occur which forces the three become instant fugitives and allow the Senator and Congressman to band together help get Greer a temporary beta test for Samaritan in New York City. Further bad news for Reese and Shaw is the fact that Finch, who is the target of their manhunt (and still unwilling to accept what his creation has asked of him), disappears.

Offering us a fun short peek at Root and Shaw together (please give Shoot their own spin-off already!), the episode takes quite a dramatic turn with the reveal of the real threat which threaten serious repercussions for the entire team. After teasing us about the dangers of a second machine without the protocols and rules Finch programmed into his creation, it’s The Machine not Samaritan who comes off ordering a murder. With Samartian online, Reese and Shaw will have to find Finch before Decima if they have any chance of keeping him safe. And with the relevant list still an issue does The Machine allow Root the chance to return and help or keep her busy dealing with threats to national security?